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WATCH: The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon as a kid in new prequel Young Sheldon

The trailer for the new The Big Bang Theory prequel Young Sheldon is here.

The Big Bang Theory has teased the backstory of child prodigy Sheldon Cooper for ten seasons. Born to a religious family in East Texas, Sheldon started college aged 11 and received his first PHD in Theoretical Physics at just 16.

Now, in a new series produced by original Sheldon actor Jim Parsons, the story of Sheldon’s childhood is brought to life in a typically hilarious yet surprisingly heartwarming new five-minute trailer.

In the trailer, we meet a nine-year-old Sheldon (played by Big Little Lies actor Iain Armitage) as he begins high school. He’s just as much of a smart-ass and as rule-obsessed as adult Sheldon. A young and fiercely protective Mary Cooper (played by real-life daughter of Laurie Metcalf, Zoe Perry) tries to shield her son from the criticism of all those around him, but struggles to understand her son.

Then there’s Sheldon’s twin sister Missy (Raegan Revord) and older brother George Jr (Montana Jordan), who he describes as “apes”.

We also get a glimpse at Sheldon’s father George (Lance Barber), who died when Sheldon was young, for the first time in series canon. The father and son share a heartwarming moment as George warns his son about alienating his classmates.

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The Big Bang Theory spin-off Young Sheldon picked up by CBS

American network CBS has picked up the new Big Bang Theory spin-off about Sheldon Cooper’s childhood.

The new series is titled Young Sheldon and will focus on child prodigy Sheldon Cooper’s high school years, which infamously took place when he was still in his pre-teens. In The Big Bang Theory canon, Sheldon started college at eleven years old, graduated at fourteen years old and received his first doctorate at the tender age of sixteen.

Taking on the role of 9-year-old Sheldon is child actor and theatre critic Iain Armitage, who currently portrays Ziggy Chapman in HBO drama Big Little Lies. Zoe Perry, who is the real-life daughter of Sheldon’s mother’s actress Laurie Metcalf, will play the younger version of Mary Cooper.

Lance Barber, Raegan Revord and Montana Jordan will also star.

Much like The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon will be a half-hour single-camera comedy. The Big Bang Theory creators Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro created the series, and Sheldon actor Jim Parsons will be involved as an executive producer.

The series will air on CBS in the Autumn in the US. Young Sheldon doesn’t have a UK broadcaster yet, but The Big Bang Theory airs on E4 in the UK within a few weeks of broadcasting in the US.

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Could The Big Bang Theory return for two new seasons?

According to Deadline, the cast of the popular American sitcom are finalising new contracts with the show that will see them return for two new seasons.

Series stars Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar are currently in the process of finalising contracts that could see them earn around $1 million per episode. Fellow stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch are understood to be negotiating separately to the original cast.

Two new seasons of The Big Bang Theory would keep the sitcom on air until 2019 and bring the show up to an enormous twelve seasons.

The Big Bang Theory fans will remember that last time the show was renewed in 2014, prolonged contract negotiations with the cast meant the filming of season eight was delayed.

Cast members have soothed any fears the show might be about to end, however, with Sheldon actor Jim Parsons recently telling The Today Show he would be “shocked” if the show didn’t return for an eleventh season.

Parsons said: “I know that everybody wants to. So I would be shocked if that didn’t happen. I really would be.”

The current season of the show has already seen Leonard and Penny renew their vows at a wedding blessing in front of friends and family, Sheldon and Amy begin living together and Howard and Bernadette become parents for the first time.

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The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco says ten seasons is enough

Kaley Cuoco dropped a major hint on US television that The Big Bang Theory may finish after ten seasons.

Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Cuoco said that more episodes of the world’s most popular sitcom were a “very expensive question” for “a lot of people”.

When pressed by Kimmel about whether she thought ten seasons of the show was “enough”, Cuoco laughed and said “yes”.

“Ten seasons. That’s a lot of hair. That’s a lot of denim sizes. Ten years, come on! All of my twenties. I went from like hot to like thirty.”

Cuoco has starred as girl-next-door Penny for nine seasons of the hit show. However, the future of the CBS hit is currently up in the air as the cast’s contracts with the show all expire after the upcoming tenth season.

Cuoco and her co-stars Jim Parsons (Sheldon) and Johnny Galecki (Leonard) famously secured $1 million an episode in 2014 to make seasons seven through ten, and are reportedly looking for another pay rise this time around.

Last week, The Big Bang Theory showrunner Steve Molaro acknowledged the show could continue without some of its major stars, such as Cuoco, Parsons or Galecki. He said such an outcome would “certainly be different and weird”.

The pair infamously blew off tradition last series and got hitched in Las Vegas, but the disappointment of their families led to Penny calling a truce and promising a big family do wedding blessing. Perhaps if she’d spent her time watching television sitcoms, she would have stood her ground on this one.

The Big Bang Theory executive producer Steve Molaro dropped a few hints over what to expect from the family drama-fuelled episode to EW: “As we know, [Penny’s] brother Randall has been a bit of trouble over the years, selling drugs and being in and out of jail, and that’s put a lot of stress on her mom.

“You will pick up on the tensions between her mother and her brother very quickly, and you get a glimpse of Penny and her dad being caught in the middle of that.”

The Big Bang Theory might continue without main stars

The Big Bang Theory bosses have suggested the hit sitcom may continue without one or more of its main stars. Although the upcoming season, which is set to air on CBS in the US later this month, should be safe, The Big Bang Theory cast are out of contracts at the end of season.

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The Big Bang Theory might continue without main stars

The Big Bang Theory bosses have suggested the hit sitcom may continue without one or more of its main stars.

Although the upcoming season, which is set to air on CBS in the US later this month, should be safe, The Big Bang Theory cast are out of contracts at the end of season.

Series stars Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Johnny Galecki (Leonard), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard), Kunal Nayyar (Raj), Mayim Bialik (Amy) and Melissa Rauch (Bernadette) are reportedly all seeking pay rises for the new series. Long-term fans will remember that the production of season seven was delayed after extended contract negotiations with the Big Bang Theory stars.

CBS bosses are trying desperately to get the stars to accept new contracts on the world’s most popular comedy series, and have now suggested that the show many continue even if some of its main stars – such as Parsons, Galecki and Cuoco – don’t sign up.

Big Bang Theory showrunner Steve Molaro told the Hollywood Reporter: “All we can do right now is focus on season 10 and go script by script, which is what we would be doing anyway. As far as I’m concerned, here in the writers’ room, it’s business as usual: moving forward with the characters and letting them live their lives day by day and feeling out what happens with them.

“We don’t really arc out stories too far, and we let things happen organically, and if things catch us by surprise — like Bernadette being pregnant or something like that — if it feels right, we go with it.

“It’s more of that and if and when we know something that’s actual information that can be helpful [regarding the contracts], we may do something differently, but until then, we’re sticking to the game plan.”

Speaking about whether the show could continue without some of its main stars, Molaro said: “I have no idea. I think it would certainly be different and weird. There’s no point in me wondering what it could be when I have 19 scripts staring down at me that need to get written.”

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The Big Bang Theory will continue for more than ten seasons

The Big Bang Theory has long been expected to end after ten seasons, but CBS has confirmed this may not be the case.

Possibly because of the superstar demands of the show’s cast, or the show’s many similarities to the ten seasons of Friends, fans have long believed that 2014’s three year renewal of The Big Bang Theory until 2017 would be the last.

However, American network CBS, which is the Big Bang Theory‘s US home, confirmed at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour that they are hopeful the upcoming tenth season will not be the show’s last.

CBS boss Glenn Geller told reporters: “We are very confident that everyone involved wants more Big Bang past year ten and I know Warner Bros. will make those deals.”

“We’ll put it on for as long as everyone wants Big Bang on the air. I hope it lasts forever.”

The news follows reports that The Big Bang Theory actors were game for eleven seasons or more.

Speaking last March to TVLine, Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny, said: “I think it’s a given that we want to be here. That’s the overall consensus. It might be a sticky road, but if I have anything to do with it, we’d be here for much longer [than ten seasons]. That’s the goal.”

Sheldon actor Jim Parsons echoed the sentiment, saying: “If the opportunity to go past Season ten came up, I’d be very hard-pressed to tell you who [among the cast] might say no — if anybody would. I wouldn’t.

“The writers are still so devoted and on top of it. The stories that come out are still so much fun to play — there’s no drudgery aspect to this.

“I’m trying to imagine when an actor in a good situation would go, ‘I’m out of here!.’ I don’t think it would be between seasons ten and eleven — not if things are going well.”

The Big Bang Theory returns to CBS on September 19. It airs on E4 in the UK.

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Breaking Bad star joins The Big Bang Theory

The star, who played lovable but clueless DEA agent Hank Schrader for six seasons of the most critically acclaimed show of all time, will be taking on the role of US Air Force boss Captain Williams – a man interested in using Howard’s quantum gyroscope for military purposes.

Howard had the idea for the quantum gyroscope last season after wife Bernadette fell pregnant, but he soon began to worry that his innovation may be used for devastation by the US military – not unlike the scientists who split the atom in 1932.

It looks like his fears will come into fruition with the appearance of Captain Williams, who is reported to star in the first three episodes of the hit comedy series.

Big Bang Theory executive producer Steve Molaro confirmed: “That storyline is certainly not finished. They have no choice but to see what the Air Force wants and then go from there.”

There will be a lot to get through in the first few episodes of Big Bang‘s tenth season, after season nine of the comedy left off with Sheldon’s mum and Leonard’s dad sneaking off to a hotel room the night before Leonard and Penny’s marriage renewal.

The Big Bang Theory recently confirmed that the episodes will also introduce us to Penny’s mother, played by Katey Sagal, and brother, played by Jack McBrayer.

The Big Bang Theory returns to CBS on September 19. It airs on E4 in the UK.

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10 ways The Big Bang Theory ripped off Friends

Friends was the seminal American sitcom and The Big Bang Theory is as close as American telly has ever gotten at replicating the formula that had people glued to their screens on Thursday nights. We personally think that’s it’s managed to replicate that siuccess by copying Friends a little too closely. Here are 10 ways The Big Bang Theory completely ripped off Friends:

1. The hot blonde moves in near the geeky scientist.

A gorgeous, popular young blonde woman arrives on the scene in both shows and a geeky scientist begins crushing on her.

2. Ross & Rachel vs. Penny and Leonard

Penny and Leonard continue to mirror Ross and Rachel for a lot of the series. From confusion over who likes who, a cute initial relationship, a bitter breakup that puts a strain on their friends, the occasional one-night-stand and then finally making it back together.

3. The drunken Vegas wedding

Ross and Rachel get drunkenly married in Vegas, while Penny also marries her former flame Zack offscreen in what we can assume was a drunken affair. Penny and Leonard later (both sober and unprepared for the consequences) decide on the spur of the moment to get married for realsies in Vegas, which is not so different from Monica and Chandler’s decision to do so in series five (apart from P&L go through with it).

4. The positioning of Joey’s chair and Sheldon’s spot

This one caused a bit of outrage when it first aired in the The Big Bang Theory, as the idea is exactly the same. Joey likes his chair in the exact same place for spacial reasons, and Sheldon is no different in regards to his spot.

Check out the two clips here:

5. The song about a cat

Fans of both comedy behemoths will know all the words to a cat-centred tune like the back of their hand, and in both shows it’s attributed to the most eccentric character. Phoebe’s ‘Smelly Cat’ is her signature song, while Sheldon requires his caretakers to sing ‘Soft Kitty’ to him whenever he is sick.
Check out the two clips here:

6. The improved version of Rock/Paper/Scissors

We all know the regular version of Rock Paper Scissors, but both shows decided this was far too simple and opted for their own enhanced versions. In Friends, Phoebe and Joey add Fire and Water Balloon to the proceedings; while in The Big Bang Theory, the guys use a version that includes Lizard and Spock.

Check out the two clips here:

7. The unseen fat character

In Friends, Ugly Naked Guy is talked about a lot but only makes an appearance one time (and that’s from the back). In The Big Bang Theory, Howard’s mother is constantly referred to – and often makes vocal appearances – but she is also only ever seen twice (once from behind like UNG, and once from a great height).

8. “I love you” – “Thank you”

Both sitcoms suggested that a possible response to an unwelcomed “I love you” could be “thank you”, both between Ross and Emily and Leonard and Penny.

Check out both here:

9.The waitress-to-success career trajectory.

Both Rachel and Penny started their careers as terrible waitress, and remained stuck in that dead-end job for multiple seasons. Both Rachel and Penny eventually got lucky and became remarkably successful at their new jobs (as a fashion executive and a pharmaceutical sales rep respectively).

10. The box of treasured possessions

Another moment virtually copied from the script of Friends is when Penny reveals to Leonard that she has kept a box of seemingly unimportant items from their relationship. Rachel did this same thing sixteen years beforehand with Ross, pulling out a box of items from hers and Ross’ former relationship.

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Top 20 The Big Bang Theory episodes

The Big Bang Theory is finally returning from its midseason break tonight at 8.30pm on E4.

To celebrate the return of the show that is, let’s face it, this generation’s Friends (but with WoW and Morlocks and nerd stuff), we’ve compiled a countdown of our top twenty episodes ever.

How many of these do you remember? Do you agree or have we missed your favourite? Let us know by tweeting @tvguideshows!

20. The Zarnecki Incursion (season 4, episode 19)

Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj (but mostly Penny) become real life superheroes as they go on a quest to retrieve Sheldon’s stolen World of Warcraft items from a teenage hacker.

19. The Pirate Solution (season 3, episode 4)

Sheldon offers Raj a job working for him after Raj runs out of funding for his research, prompting a battle of the egos. Meanwhile, a lonely Howard interrupts Leonard and Penny’s relationship time.

18. The Ornithophobia Diffusion (season 5, episode 9)

Ornithophobic Sheldon finds himself pushed to his limits when a bird flies into the apartment, while Leonard and Penny go on a date that totally isn’t a date.

17. The Pancake Batter Anomaly (season 1, episode 11)

Sheldon’s severe hypochondria and outrageous behaviour while sick appears for the first time in this episode, during which Sheldon becomes ill and Penny is forced to look after him after the boys evacuate the apartment.

16. The Herb Garden Germination (season 4, episode 20)

Sheldon and Amy test a hypothesis that a rumour about a scandalous liaison between the two of them will spread faster amongst their friendship group than a rumour about their gardening habits, to hilarious results.

15. The Thanksgiving Decoupling (season 7, episode 9)

The team head to Mrs Wolowitz’s (R.I.P) for Thanksgiving dinner, during which Howard tries awkwardly to bond with Bernadette’s father and Penny discovers that she accidentally married former flame Zack in Las Vegas.

14. The Justice League Recombination (season 4, episode 11)

Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj convince Penny and new boyfriend Zack to join them at a New Year’s Eve party at the comic book store, where they dress as the Justice League to try to win a costume competition.

Howard returns from his trip from outer space to find Bernadette sick and the rest of the group have made plans without him, replacing him with Stuart from the comic book store.

11. The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis (season 2, episode 11)

Sheldon obsessively searches for a Christmas present for Penny that is of equal value to her present and their perceived level of friendship, while Leonard becomes jealous when Penny starts dating a scientist who is both smarter and better looking than him.

10. The Panty Piñata Polarization (season 2, episode 7)

Sheldon and Penny go to war with one another after Sheldon declares Penny has reached three strikes for poor behaviour and is now banished from the boys’ apartment.

9. The Love Spell Potential (season 6, episode 23)

After they are forced to abort their plans for a weekend in Las Vegas, the girls join the guys for a game of Dungeons and Dragons, where Sheldon and Amy play dirty make believe.

8. The Einstein Approximation (season 3, episode 14)

Sheldon believes that by taking a note out of Einstein’s book and working in a menial job, his brain will be free to solve a particularly troubling maths problem he has been obsessing over.

7. The Adhesive Duck Deficiency (season 3, episode 8)

Penny slips and injures her shoulder in the shower and Sheldon is forced to help her dress and drive her to the hospital, while the guys accidentally get stoned on a camping trip to see a meteor shower.

6. The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification (season 4, episode 2)

Sheldon announces he will be undergoing a series of life changes to increase his lifespan after learning he will die before technology enables him to transfer his mind to a robot.

5. The Opening Night Excitation (season 9, episode 11)

Star Wars episode 7 is opening on the same night as Amy’s birthday, leaving Sheldon torn over what to do.

4. The Bakersfield Expedition (season 6, episode 13)

The boys are robbed on their way to Bakersfield Comic Con, while the girls read comic books in an attempt to understand the obsession of their other halves.

3. The Staircase Implementation (season 3, episode 22)

Flashback episode in which Leonard explains how he came to live with Sheldon, and the truth behind the continually-broken elevator.

2. The Barbarian Sublimation (season 2, episode 3)

After hitting a low point in her personal life and career, Penny becomes obsessed with the online role playing game Age of Conan.

1. The Euclid Alternative (season 2, episode 5)

When Leonard starts working nights at the university, Sheldon is left without a ride to work. After exhausting the patience of his friends, Howard sets him up on a driving simulator to hilarious results.